Intelligent NBA commentary from the two biggest basketball fans on the planet.

June 28, 2006

NBA Draft - Needs and Reality, Part 3

By Craig Kwasniewski

Earlier I posted Part 1 and Part 2 of our NBA Draft outlook. Now comes Part 3 of the draft (picks 21 through 30), the rest of it. I admit, some of these picks are a stretch (damn, these draft forecasts are harder than you think! Chad Ford, you definitely earned half of your wages... until your first of many Euro busts.)

Anyway, in looking for some draft coverage photos, I stumbled upon this one of Adam Morrison. I just keep thinking of Chris, from Family Guy screaming, "Why am I so awkward!?" I'm really starting to love the NBA dress code.

So let's continue with Phoenix:

21. Phoenix: Their offseason could be the best in the NBA. After finishing as a Western Conference Finalist, they get Amare back for next year. They still may want to add some size. Playing with house money here, they take Oleksiy Pecherov.

22. New Jersey: Watching Anthony Johnson scorch Kidd in the playoffs on offense tells me that Kidd is slowing down. Time to draft a replacement point in Sergio Rodriguez.

24. Memphis: They need to add to the backcourt, especially if Bobby Jackson leaves. I see it in Maurice Ager.

25. Cleveland: They need to prove to LeBron that they are serious about contending, so no projects here. Shannon Brown is one of the best players left at this spot.

26. Lakers: Notorious for pissing away draft picks (Devean George, Mark Madsen, Sasha Vujacic, Brian Cook), horrible trades (Shaq for Lamar Odom and salary cap hell till 2007) and crappy free agent signings (Aaron McKie and Vlade Divac); Mitch Kupchak is an Isiah Thomas away from being the worst General Manager in all of professional sports. So how does he fuck up this pick? He’ll probably take local guy Jordan Farmer. (Though rumor has the Lakers drafting James White which is what they'll do.)

27. Phoenix: This one’s an absolute stretch, so don’t kill me for suggesting it, but why not draft Kevin Pittsnogle? The guy is 6-11 with incredible shooting range, a nice version of Bill Laimbeer. This would fit their system and he wouldn’t clog the lane for Amare.

28. Mavericks: What else can they add, Dallas runs 2 to 3 deep at every position. (Maybe they can draft a therapist to help them cope with being jobbed by the refs.) Anyway, they should take a chance on a long shot and draft a Euro project like Marcus Vinicius Vieria De Souza. I'll be checking daily for the Vinicius Vieria De Souza jersey, finally someone with a longer last name than mine!

30. Portland: The Blazers close out the first round by taking Jordan Farmar. Actually a decent pick at this spot. As he walks up to the podium he fires up a splify and calls David Stern a bitch. He fits right in with Portland!